BERKELEY, Calif. — A historic San Francisco Bay Area hotel and social club has been evacuated after a resident used a toxic chemical to commit suicide in her room.
Police spokesman Ethell Wilson says the 80-year-old woman used sodium azide to kill herself Tuesday in her apartment on the third floor of the landmark Berkeley City Club.
The Oakland Tribune reports that the woman left a note warning authorities of the dangerous situation, and hazardous materials crews and bomb squad technicians responded just before 2 p.m.
Other residents and guests were evacuated, but Wilson says there are no reports of injuries.
A person who answered the phone at the hotel hung up when a reporter called for comment.
Sodium azide is commonly found in cars’ air bags to make them inflate. It becomes a toxic gas when mixed with water.